“The most rewarding part of my practice is when I’m able to take advantage of my creativity and my experience by suggesting something about which my client has not thought (e.g, how the transaction can and should be structured) and my idea accomplishes the same objective for the client, but adds protections for my client and/or makes the economics of the deal even better for the client.”

Mr. Harper’s practice focuses on commercial real estate, leasing, secured lending, tax and general corporate law. Mr. Harper primarily represents developers, investors and lenders, with extensive experience in the acquisition, development, leasing and financing of retail, industrial, multi-family and office properties.

“I deal a lot with tax issues and have significant 1031 tax-deferred exchange experience, including unconventional exchanges such as ground lease exchanges, co-tenancy exchanges, reverse exchanges, and reverse exchanges with a construction element. Therefore, unlike many typical commercial real estate attorneys, I believe I add a lot of value for our clients with the tax perspective that I offer and with my extensive 1031 tax-deferred exchange experience.”

“I think I offer a unique combination of being very analytical, logical and detail oriented, while at the same time bringing a great deal of creativity and understanding of economics to the table. Accordingly, what I really enjoy is not just going through the machinations of getting a deal done, but suggesting different structures where you can go from A to B, but take an alternate route that has a more beneficial tax and/or other economic result for my client.”

As a Georgia real estate attorney, Mr. Harper’s practice includes the representation of developers and investors in all aspects of acquiring, developing, financing, leasing and selling retail, office, multi-family, industrial and hotel properties.

Representative Transactions History (Partial):

• Lead counsel in the acquisition and financing of three office properties for the same client from Highwoods Properties totaling over $19,000,000.00, all as replacements properties for different 1031 tax-deferred exchanges;
• Lead counsel in the sale of three multi-family properties to a single purchaser totaling approximately $20,000,000.00 as relinquished properties in connection with a tax-deferred exchange;
• Extensive involvement in the acquisition, construction financing, leasing, development, and non-recourse permanent financing of an approximate $60,000,000.00 multi-phase retail shopping center including the transfer of a portion of the property and the loan assumption and negotiation of a joint venture operating agreement in connection therewith;
• Lead counsel in the acquisition of 7 vacant single tenant retail buildings from institutional sellers totaling over 860,000 rentable square feet, the leasing of such buildings to a national credit retail tenant prior to closing and the sale (most of which were simultaneous purchases and sales) of all but one property to two different purchasers, one of which is an institutional purchaser;
• Lead counsel in the acquisition and financing of a $5,750,000.00 single tenant manufacturing facility as part of a 1031 tax-deferred exchange and that involved both a lease modification to conform the lease to a more industry standard and landlord-friendly lease and a master lease with the seller to ensure an income stream of a sufficient duration in the event that the tenant did not exercise its option to renew so as to justify the economics of the transaction;
• Lead counsel in the acquisition and construction financing of an approximately $10,000,000.00 retail shopping center as part of a reverse 1031 tax-deferred exchange with a construction element;
• Lead counsel in the acquisition and financing of a $7,100,000.00 shopping center;
• Lead counsel in the acquisition and financing of an $11,625,000.00 multi-family property as part of a 1031 tax-deferred exchange;
• Lead counsel in the acquisition of a $7,900,000.00 multi-family property from Amli as part of a 1031 tax-deferred exchange;
• Lead counsel in the sale of a $9,300,000.00 multi-family property;
• Lead counsel in the $18,500,000.00 permanent non-recourse financing of a national flag hotel;
• Lead counsel in the acquisition of an undivided interest in a $5,300,000.00 single tenant industrial building as part of a co-tenancy 1031 tax-deferred exchange;
• Lead counsel in negotiating the lease of a 542,491 square foot warehouse building for a national credit tenant;
• Lead counsel in negotiating a lease of a 40,000 square foot industrial building to a national credit tenant;
• Lead counsel in the acquisition and financing of a retail property involving the purchase and exercise of an option to purchase (at my suggestion) so as to create tax savings that were shared between the seller and my client through a reduction in the purchase price;
• Lead counsel in the simultaneous acquisition and financing of an assemblage of 88 undeveloped acres from multiple sellers for $6,300,000.00;
• Extensive involvement in successfully opposing a special use permit that would have permitted a waste transfer station to be located near a 170 acre industrial facility off of I-85 that is being marketed for a large multi-use redevelopment project;
• Extensive involvement in the negotiation of joint venture operating agreements and the review of due diligence for approximately 10 real estate projects for the same client including the preparation of his investor level operating agreements in connection with syndications of private equity totaling over $23,000,000.00

Mr. Harper received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before moving on to Emory University School of Law.

While at Emory, Mr. Harper worked as the book review editor for the Emory International Law Review and had his student comment published which discussed the limitations of The Hague Convention on the international abduction of children by a parent including alternative remedies for a parent, such as re-abduction.

Mr. Harper is licensed to practice law in Georgia and North Carolina.

When not practicing law, Tom enjoys playing golf, cooking, watching North Carolina basketball and spending time with and traveling with his wife, Kimberley, and their three young daughters, Mason, Caroline and Elizabeth. In addition to volunteering at their church, Tom and Kimberley are active parent volunteers at The Cathedral Preschool and Pace Academy.